Satisfaction in every bite

As we wondered through Aberdeen, a friend and I decided to stop at Baker One for lunch since we did not want to eat at the food court or go into some high-end Chinese restaurant. This seemed like a cute little café, very clean and bright with the tall glass windows.

I had the Seafood Omurice with the tomato sauce and fried rice on the inside. It tasted fairly good, with the tomato sauce tangy and sweet. The egg omelet was delicious with the sauce and the seafood – squid, scallops, mussels, and prawns – were tender as well. The fried rice on the inside went nicely with the egg and the sauce, so, overall, it was quite nice for ‘high-end’ comfort food.

My friend ordered their special of the day – Black Pepper Seafood Pasta. The seafood was the same – three squid rings, three prawns, two scallops, and a mussel – but the sauce was a little bland. It had a good black pepper taste but was otherwise not very flavourful with just a touch of olive oil. The pasta was al dente but the portion was small so for a similar price, the omurice was much more worth it.

I can see why this place will not get full on a regular basis. The food is quite basic and not much of a fusion in comparison to the other HK-style cafes in the area. However, their entrees are at least $4-5 more expensive, perhaps due to the location in Aberdeen or the more elegant décor. Either way, the food must deliver and for the price, it is just not up to par with other places.

Guerilla Ultima was a relatively new food truck specializing in BBQ that I had never seen around Drexel’s campus or anywhere else. The menu looked interesting with a lot of choices of protein. However, I do think it’s important to specify a burger and not call it a sandwich.

The Sesame Broccoli Salad was a little too sour for my liking. I had a lot of broccoli as well as napa cabbage, carrots, and spicy jalapenos. It just had too much acidity to the salad and it was a little overdressed. However, I did like the crispness of the fresh vegetables. Still, for $4, the portion was quite small.

The Outsourced Patriot was in actuality a smoked curry chicken burger topped with coconut crema and guerilla slaw. The chicken was a little dry but still decent. It also had a smoky flavour but I had a hard time tasting much of the coconut crema. The burger was just a tad too dry and slightly bland, especially once you have the two pieces of the bun with the chicken breast.

I think this food truck has potential but really needs to carve out its niche, figure out the tastes of its customers, and set a price that will generate a lot of business. Striking up conversations while customers are waiting is also not a bad idea.

National Hamburger Month continues with a visit to SpOt, the best burgers off a cart you can ever find. The Yosemite Sam was the weekly special: a regular, juicy beef burger with bacon, grilled onions, provolone cheese, jalapenos, BBQ-sriracha, and a teriyaki-horseradish mayonnaise. I love sweet grilled onions on everything, especially balancing out the kick from the jalapenos. The sauces mixed together nicely as well – two types of sweet and spicy.

The Umami Burger had lettuce, pickled daikon, gilled onions, mushrooms, gochujang, and teriyaki. The lettuce and daikon gave it a nice crunch and I love the sweet and spicy from the onions and the two sauces. The mushrooms did not add flavour or texture but were great nonetheless. Overall, a very satisfying, juicy burger.

Local 215 is one of the few food trucks using local products and making gourmet meals out of a truck. Their brown truck may not seem as pretty but their food cannot be found elsewhere in University City. However, the taste to me does not justify their higher prices. It was not bad by any means, just not as outstanding as I had expected.

The Pork Fritters were fried to the perfect crispy texture on the outside. Inside were, besides shredded pork, pistachios and capers. The fritters did not have any pronounced flavour. I did like the hoisin sriracha dipping sauce that had a touch of sweetness but was very flavourful with a small kick.

The famous Duck Buns were decent, with juicy, tender pieces of duck. Sandwiched in between the pita-like flatbreads were pickled veggies, cucumber, and a sesame chili aioli. The aioli lacked a little flavour and the buns overall were a little greasy. They were also messy to eat and got soggy quickly.

Philladilla is a new food cart that frequents 33rd and Arch, otherwise known as part of the Food Truck Mecca down at Drexel. To some, a Mexican-based food cart is one too many but this one adds the cute, fresh factor… oh, and the creativity.

The Roast Pork Taco, which I got one for $3, was quite tasty. I loved the Asian slaw on top but the taco could have used more flavour, which would go well with the tender pork. The cilantro pesto was a nice twist and a very refreshing one at that.

The Philly Cheesesteak Quesadilla may not seem to be worth the $6 at first. To be honest, it was small and probably will not fill you up as nicely as $6 spent on another food truck. However, I liked the flavour of the tender steak with sweet onions, and American cheese. They went so well with the flour tortilla and for some reason, was a little nostalgic for me. I also loved the sweet, homemade ketchup that came with it. Overall, the menu can be limited but Philladilla is worth a try!

Once again, I made my way on a sunny early afternoon to 30th Street Station. Many trucks were nearing the end of their service but I managed to get a bite at Vernalicious.

The Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese looked delicious but tasted just okay. The pork is decent and very juicy but bland where there wasn’t any barbecue sauce (though it was a good excuse to celebrate National Barbecue Month!) The sauce also soaked through the bread on the bottom, making it incredibly soggy. The cheese was also a little bland and I could not really taste the flavour or the texture. At least the Texas toast on top was still okay. However, for $8.50, I find this to be way overrated.

Now that the weather is getting so much better, The Porch at 30th Street Station is a great way to try some of the food trucks that do not usually come by University City. On this particular occasion, I went to The Sunflower Truck Stop.

It was still Grilled Cheese Month so I went with the Crab & Artichoke Dip Grilled Cheese, which was a little pricey at $8 but still delicious. The multigrain bread was toasted until just crispy on the outside and still a little chewy on the inside. The crab and artichoke dip inside was salty, creamy, and just delicious. The spinach did not add much in terms of flavour or texture but everything was just gooey and yummy when it all melted together with gouda and cheddar. The homemade tortilla chips were too salty but had a great texture.

Now that the weather is getting so much better, The Porch at 30th Street Station is a great way to try some of the food trucks that do not usually come by University City. On this particular occasion, I went to The Sunflower Truck Stop.

It was still Grilled Cheese Month so I went with the Crab & Artichoke Dip Grilled Cheese, which was a little pricey at $8 but still delicious. The multigrain bread was toasted until just crispy on the outside and still a little chewy on the inside. The crab and artichoke dip inside was salty, creamy, and just delicious. The spinach did not add much in terms of flavour or texture but everything was just gooey and yummy when it all melted together with gouda and cheddar. The homemade tortilla chips were too salty but had a great texture.

I made it just in time to catch Just Jackie’s Food Truck at The Porch at 30th Street Station. It was such a beautiful day to try out this new food truck.

The Maple Glazed Seitan Sandwich, at $7, was pretty good. I loved the sweet but not overwhelming maple glaze on the chopped seitan. The seitan was really hard to chew, though, and got caught in my teeth – a lot. I loved the sweet sauteed kale, peppers, and mushroom the most, especially the kale! However, I found there to be too much of the vegan horseradish mayo. It was a little too creamy and spicy, and some bites took over the rest of the ingredients. The bun was fresh and chewy, which was good. Overall, I liked the uniqueness of the sandwich, something you rarely find on a food truck.

It was National Potato Chip Day so what better way than to celebrate with a serving of freshly sliced and fried real potato chips. They are way better than the things that come in bags. Honestly. Street Food Philly was also serving up a variety of St. Patrick’s Day specials so let’s start with that.

The St. Pat Burger Special included a juicy beef patty with Guiness glaze, beer onion rings, mustard cabbage, and cheese on a soft and toasted burger bun. It was so juicy and so flavourful with the glaze an the mustard seeds. The cabbage added a great crunch and the onion rings’ sweetness helped cut into the savoury and spicy kick. The chips that came along were crispy, not too oily, and very thing.

The Guinness Beef Stew had extremely tender cubes of beef. There was a bit too much potatoes and not enough carrots and onions. It was a little greasy on the top but the flavour was outstanding and incredibly rich and comforting. The Irish soda bread was very crispy and light, soaking up the stew nicely.

The Guinness Budino had the sweetest, smoothest, and tastiest Guinness custard. I could not taste much of the Guiness but the custard was great, as was the salted caramel, caramel whip cream, and the crushed animal crackers and the chocolate graham at the bottom. It was a light but sweet dessert.

Finally, being awesome, they gave me a Salted Fudge Brownie. It was dense, rich, and chewy. A little greasy on the fingers but the flavours were spot on.

Street Food Philly is not cheap – the three items costed me $20. However, the quality of the food really does justify the prices. Each portion is individually prepared and cooked to order. This is nothing like fast food out of a truck, that’s for sure!

My Mom would have flipped had she been there when we discovered the first evening we arrived in Tokyo that we would be going to dinner at Denny’s. Of all the places, Denny’s? Really? Images of wimpy salads, skimpy plates, and overall bad diner food popped into my mind. I thought to myself, this was not going to be a good start to my Tokyo experience. However, as our tour guide, Eiichiro, showed us, even the Denny’s in Tokyo is good, with a Japanese-inspired menu and all.

Casey and Nikila both ordered the 翡翠麺 {Jade Noodles}. I liked the al dente green noodles. The mushrooms were nice, but I loved the cabbage. They were slightly sweet and somewhat crunchy. The best part was the soup, which was so flavourful. Add that touch of chilli oil and it was amazing.

I ordered the たっぷり野菜のスープごはん～五豆と五穀～豆腐サラダつき {Rice Soup with Vegetables, 5 Grains and 5 Beans, Salad with Tofu}. It was a vegetable soup poured over white rice and grains that was very refreshing, warm, and comforting after a long, tiresome flight. The tofu was soft and quite unflavoured but the dressing it came in was sweet, tangy, and very tasty. There was a bit too much oil but the diced plum thing on the side was salty and good when added to the soup.

Well, this certainly changed my opinion of Denny’s… well, the ones in Tokyo anyways. Delightful, light, and flavourful, this was certainly a good start to spring break!